Top three Social Trend Predictions of 2019

December 21, 2018

Top three Social Trend Predictions of 2019

Social media is a changeable beast. Just when you’re hitting your stride, there’s a new app, feature or update to wrestle with. Brands need to experiment and innovate in order to keep up. We’ve mined industry reports so you don’t have to, and pulled out the top three trends to keep an eye on in the new year. Thank us later.

Evolution into an entertainment hub

What is it?

Privacy conscious users are choosing to share less personal information. Go figure. Instead they’re engaging with and sharing third-party content. Younger users in particular are more likely to use social media beyond sharing details on their daily lives.

Where’s the insight I hear you cry?

A new study on The Rise of Social Video from Global Web Index reveals this tilt towards passive networking. Users are 5% more likely to use social media to find products to buy and 4% more likely to use social media to stay up-to-date with news and current affairs, but sharing details of their daily life is the only category that has seen a decline.

Why does that matter then?

From music and video consumption to online shopping and live sports broadcast and commentary, our favourite platforms are jostling with traditional media to become our one-stop entertainment hub. As audiences are spending more time on social media and are actively looking to brands to be entertained, brands can swoop in. Now more than ever brands are expected to create compelling content to reach their audience in more meaningful ways.

Consumer are favouring micro moments

Now what’s this?

Instead of whiling away hours online, people are exploring the digital world in short bursts and typically on-the-go. We can’t put our phones down, especially when there’s a good vertical videos or live broadcast being streamed across Instagram Stories, IGTV, and Facebook.

The insight behind that?

These short, micro-moments provide digestible and entertaining content that have become increasingly popular. A new Trends 2019 Report report from Hootsuite predicts formats that have short lifespans will be the next big thing. Consumers see them as a real and immediate window into a brand’s world.

So what’s in it for us?

For brands, the disappearing format means there’s room to experiment with new content and show behind the scenes, human side of a brand. On the plus side, if it bombs it can’t come back to haunt you right.

There are a host of new features already in place. Instagram’s shoppable posts now allow users to go from discovery to checkout without ever leaving the app. The platform has added a Shopping tab to its Explore page. Facebook’s Marketplace is used globally and Snapchat has partnered with Amazon to use its in-app camera to scan a barcode and bring that item up in the product page.